Why do c++ programmers use != instead of <

Question

In c++ primer, pg 95 the author says that c++ programmers tend to use != in preference of < when writing loops.

for (vector::size_type i = 0;          


        

Answer 1

If you write !=, then you can reverse the loop iteration with minimal change.

Suppose you first write:

for ( int i = m; i != n ; i++ )

Later you reverse it:

for ( int i = n ; i != m ; i-- )

Not so appealing, but still it requires less analysis than "<" and ">".